<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> UNITED STATES AND MEXICAN BOUNDARY COMMISSION. EMORY, William Hemsley. <i>Report of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, Made under the Direction of the Secretary of the Interior…</i><br>$3,000-6,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> RICHARDSON, William H. <i>Journal of William H. Richardson, a Private Soldier in the Campaign of New and Old Mexico…</i>. Baltimore: John H. Woods, 1848. $3,000-6,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> EMORY, William Hemsley. <i>Map of Texas and the Countries Adjacent: Compiled in the Bureau of the Corps of Topographical Engineers; From the Best Authorities…</i> [Washington, 1844]. $7,500-15,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> THORPE, Thomas Bangs. <i>Our Army at Monterey. Being a Correct Account of the Proceedings and Events which Occurred to the “Army of Occupation”…</i> Philadelphia, 1847. $400-800

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> TILDEN, Bryant Parrott, Jr. <i>Notes on the Upper Rio Grande, Explored in the Months of October and November, 1846, on Board the U.S. Steamer Major Brown…</i> Philadelphia, 1847.<br>$5,000-10,000

<b>Dorothy Sloan Books Dec. 15 & 16:</b> [WORTH, WILLIAM J.]. <i>Life of General Worth; To Which is Added a Sketch of the Life of Brigadier-General Wool.</i> New York: Nafis & Cornish; St. Louis, Mo.: Nafis, Cornish & Co., 1847.<br>$200-400

<b>19th Century Shop.</b> CURTIS, EDWARD. <i>Original glass plate photograph, Honovi – Walpi Snake Priest, prepared by Curtis for the printing of The North American Indian</i>, c.1910

<b>19th Century Shop.</b> (AMERICAN WEST.), Watkins, Taber, Savage, and others. <i>Magnificent Album of Mammoth Photographs of the American West, with other subjects various</i>, ca. 1865-1880s

<b>Bonhams Dec. 7:</b> DARWIN, CHARLES. <i>On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life</i>. London: John Murray, 1859. $25,000 – 35,000

Rare Book Monthly

One of the First Photographs of New York Sold at Auction

- by Michael Stillman

1848 Upper Manhattan photograph and close-up, courtesy of Sotheby's.

By Michael Stillman

A remarkable early photograph (daguerreotype) of New York was sold at Sotheby's auction house in that very city on March 30, 2009, over 160 years after it was taken. The photograph sold for $62,500, reflecting both its age and its location. The picture was taken in Manhattan, but that borough looked nothing like it does today.

The time and place of this rare photograph were determined by a note that came with it. Signed by an unknown "L.B." and dated May 1849, it says the photograph was taken the previous October, dating it to 1848. Sotheby's noted that of all the known 1840s and 1850s daguerreotypes of New York City, all of the others are from Lower Manhattan, and only one is older. Lower Manhattan was the city part of New York, while Upper Manhattan, where this picture was taken, was still countryside, dotted by estates of the wealthy, and then farms. This is one of the estates.

The road is described in the note as "a continuation of Broadway." That would be what was then called Bloomingdale Road, which is described in contemporary city directories as an extension of Broadway. This sunken, muddy looking road was one of two main north-south thoroughfares, running up the west side of Manhattan. The road was sunken so that it could remain relatively flat through the hilly Manhattan countryside.

Seen beyond the road and the white picket fence is the country estate. If you click on the thumbnail above left, you will see the complete photograph and a close-up of the house. "L.B." cautions us that because of the angle of the shot, taken from 60 or 70 feet below the building, the lower floor and portico are not visible. In other words, this house was much more impressive than it appears in this shot. The exact location of this house, and the identity of its owner are not known at this time (obviously, there are no other photographs of the area to compare). He certainly must have been one of New York's wealthier and more notable citizens, who would be well known, at least to historians, if he could be identified. Likewise, the photographer is unknown, though his initials may have been L.B.